12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia

• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia

• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia
• 12 Weirdest Cars Ever Built in Australia

With all the latest local automotive news, you would think that only Ford, Holden and Toyota have ever been produced in Australia. But in fact, we have a long, varied and often quite strange history of the automotive industry.

From a strange curiosity created by a company that honed its skills on washing machines and concrete mixers, to a car co-designed with a car journalist, there are many strange vehicles lurking in our past. Here are some of the best…

sports day - Based on the VH Commodore, Melbourne firm Classic Car Craft created a two-door Sportif using off-the-shelf panels from the German Opel Rekord on which the first Commodores were based. Painted black with period-appropriate gold trim, the Sportif also boasts a plush interior and ZK Fairlane headlights as a unique design touch. CCC described the Sportif as "a car that GMH should have built" but probably understood why they didn't after building only 12 examples.

Bolwell - The Bolwell brand is best known for producing low-volume sports cars between 1962 and 79. During this time, nine different models were built, bearing the names MkI-VIII, the most successful of which was the MkVIII Nagari, built 118 units. Mechanical parts were borrowed from several manufacturers, including engines from Ford, Holden and Volkswagen. The all-new Mark X Nagari was introduced in 2008, but with a starting price in excess of $200, most buyers seem to be opting for the Porsche 911 instead.

Buffalo - Bufori began manufacturing the VW-powered Madison in the garage of the three Sidney brothers in 1986 and expanded to the V6i and Commodore V6-powered MkII before moving production to Malaysia in 1998, where the curiously styled LaJoya and Geneva models are made today. An acronym for Beautiful, Unique, Fantastic, Original, Romantic and Irresistible, we would politely choose unique as the most appropriate term for current models.

Bullet - Bullet made a name for itself by producing rotary-powered MX-5s with a new chassis in the mid-90s, and in the 8s they moved to extreme versions with a supercharged Lexus V2000 engine. The company currently specializes in supercharger kits for numerous models, but a new supercar is in the works - this time without the bashful styling of the MX-5.

Toy - Perhaps the most ambitious of our limited edition products, Giocattolo Motori launched the mid-engined Giocattolo (Italian for toy) as a real challenge to the expensive and notoriously difficult to drive Italian exotics of the 1980s. Only 15 cars were produced between 1986 and 88, and they were designed under the same Group B rally rules as the Ferrari 288GTO, which were outlawed as soon as production began.

The work of entrepreneur Paul Halsted and former F1 designer Barry Locke, the Giocattolo combined an Alfa Romeo Sprint glass greenhouse and cockpit with Kevlar body panels and a bespoke mid-engined chassis powered by a 5.0-litre Holden engine with HSV VL Group A SS twin throttles. . V8. A few other local ingredients included Simmons alloy wheels, a minibar-sized bottle of Bundaberg rum, and a couple of shot glasses in the toolbox.

Goggmobile - Sydney car dealer Bill Buckle imported the chassis of German Goggomobil microcars to Australia between 1957 and 1961 and fitted them with locally made fiberglass bodies.

Sedan, coupe, convertible coupe and light van variants were available with 300cc and 400cc twin-cylinder engines. The "not Dart" Dart roadster has become the four-wheeled face of the Shannons insurance company.

Hartnett - The Hartnett Motor Company was founded by former Holden boss Lawrence Hartnett in 1949 after being encouraged by Prime Minister Ben Chifley to challenge Holden's dominance of the market (how times have changed).

The resulting Hartnett was based on a French design by Jean Grégoire which was produced from 1951 to 1955 as the Tasman saloon and Pacific convertible, but a few station wagons were also produced. Chifley became famous for calling the first Holden a "beauty" and helping her become a bestseller with the award. But his favorite Hartnett project wasn't as good. Supply problems hampered production and the company ceased production in 1955 after only 120 cars had been built.

Lightburn Zeta - The Zeta was produced in saloon, versatile and sporty body styles from 1963-65 by the South Australian washing machine and concrete mixer manufacturer Lightburn and Co. In addition to sporting roadster bodywork, they were all powered by a 324cc twin-cylinder engine. Sports won the block with the 498cc big block.

The Sedan version lacked any sort of rear storage compartment - early Corvette style - and only the Sports version had a reverse gear. All other models had to be turned off and started in reverse to drive backwards, effectively making its meager top speed achievable in reverse. Less than 400 Zetas were produced.

Mazda Roadpacer - A Mazda Roadpacer based on the Holden HJ and HX Premier that was sold in Japan between 1975 and '77 with an Australian big six or V8 engine replaced by the 13B rotary engine. Power was at the level of a 202 (3.3-litre) six of the day, but the rotary engine's significant torque deficit meant it was slow as a rainy week and won few friends among the luxury buyers it was aimed at. Only 800 were produced and it is the only rotary engined GM product to date.

Mitsubishi Sigma Peter Warrett Special - Mitsubishi built 1000 examples in 1981, bearing the signature of the late Australian automotive figure Peter Warrett. Legend has it that Warrett was asked to build a better car after complaining about the Sigma's basic handling to a Mitsubishi engineer, and the result was the Peter Wherrett Special. Can you imagine Paul Gower Cruise or Joshua Dowling Aurion today?

According to Warrett, he turned the Sigma into "one of the greatest family cars of the decade" by fitting extractors to the standard 2.6-liter four-cylinder engine to boost power from 72.9 to 76 kW, a five-speed manual transmission, revised damper tuning, and disc brakes. , 15-inch alloy wheels with Pirelli tires, and they were all painted red with special striped stickers on the sides. The makeover was completed by Recaro front seats and a Momo-signed steering wheel.

Overlander 4WD - Long before the Holden Adventra, Vehicle Engineering and Modifications of Launceston built Overlander 4WD models based on the Holden HJ-HZ. 1976 examples were built between 89 and 120 using Holden mechanics and a Dana transfer case, along with front and rear off-road axles, wheels, tires and suspension. The conversion was co-created with Holden and could be station wagon, ute, or plain ute. As with the Adventra, this seemed like a great idea at the time, and as with the Adventra, most people bought a LandCruiser instead.

Recaro Mystere / Arcadipan Taipan - The Mystere began as a 1977 Sydney Motor Show concept created as a joint venture between Recaro and former Ford designer and Mad Max Interceptor employee Peter Arcadipan.

The Mystere was based on the LX Torana hatchback, with a cropped tail, spade nose and Arcadipane-designed fender flares, with a richly finished Recaro leather interior. The low-volume production plan did not work, and the body parts were sold as a Taipan kit through Arcadipane's coachbuilding business, even without the help of Mel Gibson.